Posted by David on August 8, 2010
Every once in awhile here at Celestial Lands, I offer some thoughts on politics. Nothing gets me in “trouble” here more than when I offer thoughts on politics. I’m probably on even less firm ground with this one than others, because it is not even really a thought, just a feeling and a wonder.
I have [...]
Categories: Prophetic Voice, Social Engagement, politics
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Tags: election, History, liberal, liberalism, Obama, politics, Prophetic Voice
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2 comments
Posted by David on June 27, 2010
My discomfort with the framing of the debate around boycotting Arizona, my accessionnig as a Military Chaplain, and the Ware Lecture by Winona LaDuke
Categories: General Assembly, Military, Ministry, Prophetic Voice, Social Engagement, Turnings, UU Movement
| Tags: accessioning, activism, bless all who serve, Boycott Arizona, chaplain accession, David Pyle, General Assembly, justice, liberal faith, military chaplain, Ministry, politics, religion, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Military, UU military meditation, UU Principles, Ware Lecture, Winona LaDuke
| 5 comments
Posted by David on April 17, 2010
I am fascinated with how we human beings create narratives or stories, and then derive our meanings from them. In politics, this manifests in several different ways, one of the most obvious being how a “narrative” is created by any successful candidacy for high political office (Obama the Reformer, McCain the Mavrick, Biden the Good [...]
Categories: Care of the Soul, Pastoral Care, Social Engagement, politics
| Tags: activism, activist, advertising, common wisdom, ethics scandal, image, judges, judicial activism, judicial appointments, justice, legislate from the bench, lobbyist, narrative, narrative theory, political image, political scandal, political story, politics, public relations
| 1 comment
Posted by David on March 25, 2010
I have spoken before about what I believe is happening on the far right of American politics today, and from the public and private responses I know it is one of the more controversial topics I engage here at Celestial Lands. I speak as someone who traveled in those far-right circles for many years. Had [...]
Categories: History, Patriotism, Prophetic Voice, politics
| Tags: apathy, Apostle Paul, conservative, Damascus, far left, far right, identity, libertarian, loss of identity, militia, political, political left, political loss, political right, political threats, political violence, politics, reforming identity, Road to Damascus, St. Paul, tea bag party, tea baggers, tea-bag
| 22 comments
Posted by David on February 13, 2010
I don’t like tofu. I’ve tried to eat it and it actually makes me gag. When I was dating, I suffered through several tofu laden meals for a particular liberal-leaning young woman I was attempting to woo… until I realized that if it worked out I would have to eat tofu for the rest of [...]
Categories: Evangelism, God, theology
| Tags: absolute truth, absolutize, Bush, certainty, conditional, conditionalism, conditionalize, idolatry, Obama, politics, post-modern, relativism, tea-party, theology, theology of substitution, tofu, truth
| 6 comments
Posted by David on January 2, 2010
We have closed another year here at Celestial Lands, and I want to thank all of those who read and send me comments, both in public through the blog and in private through my email. I keep this website because it is important to me… it is a place for my spiritual practice of writing; [...]
Categories: Blogging, CL Admin, Turnings
| Tags: 2009, archive, Celestial Lands Journal, David Pyle, faith, politics, progressivism, theology, writings
| No comments
Posted by David on September 21, 2009
If you want to become a “legend” in our current culture, there are several paths that one can follow. You can create a Youtube video of yourself doing something inherently stupid. You can go on a reality television show where you will be challenged to do stupid things on primetime, like eat scorpions or build [...]
Categories: Prophetic Voice, politics
| Tags: backyard wrestling, Glenn Beck, infamous, Michelle Bachmann, notorious, political stupidity, political violence, politics, reality television, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, stupid, stupidity
| 5 comments
Posted by David on August 13, 2009
Recently, in private conversation, on this blog, and among radio hosts I listen to, there has been conversation about why the liberal churches do not get involved in certain national policy issues… and each time I hear that call I cringe. Though I have friends in several of our UUA Advocacy Offices and social justice [...]
Categories: Ministry, Principles and Purposes, UU Movement, politics
| Tags: , church activism, church activist, church in politics, church politics, faith based activism, faith politicians, minister in politics, minister public policy, mission of church, policy, politics, prophet, prophetic, prophetic church, public policy, public policy church, purpose of church, purpose of religion, religious activism, role of church in politics, vision
| 14 comments
Posted by David on April 17, 2009
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Any time I hear someone begin to refer to whole groups of individuals as “these people” or “those people”, my brain immediately begins to shout that there is some kind of dangerous prejudice being promoted. I found it amazingly ironic that when Janeane Garofalo launched into her prejudiced diatribe last night in a segment [...]
Categories: Blogging, Prophetic Voice, Social Engagement, politics
| Tags: conservatives, countdown, fear, fundamentalism, hatred, ignorance, Janeane Garofalo, Keith Olbermann, left, politics, prejudice, racism, right
| 15 comments
Posted by David on March 13, 2009
I have found that most of the people who identify as some kind of religious “progressive” have done at least some basic work around the worldview and assumptions that they are implying by linking their religious faith so clearly with the concept of progress. While it is not the kind of faith I could follow, [...]
Categories: History, Prophetic Voice, politics
| Tags: danger, Democratic Party, elections, liberal, liberalism, myth of progress, political party, politics, poltical movement, progress, progressivism
| No comments
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